


Feather Light Footsteps

by windandthestars



Series: Lullabies and Bed Time Stories [3]
Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Single Parents, cop will, single mom helen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-28
Updated: 2012-10-28
Packaged: 2017-11-17 05:52:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/548302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windandthestars/pseuds/windandthestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He should still be awake, primed for work, but the day they had spent at the park had exhausted him and he finds he’s content to pull Helen closer and doze off again, the worn fabric of the couch warm against his back, Helen, warmer yet, cradled against his chest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Feather Light Footsteps

**Author's Note:**

  * For [convenientmisfires](https://archiveofourown.org/users/convenientmisfires/gifts).



> Belatedly, for Sam, happy birthday.

Will blinks at the blue tv screen trying to remember what it was they had been watching before he’d fallen asleep. A documentary he figures given Helen’s proclivity for the genre, but he can’t remember what it had been about, only that there had been a group of rather adorable monkeys in the beginning during the part the kids had stayed up to watch.

That had been hours ago though judging by the way his fingers tingle faintly on his one hand, Helen’s head tucked against the crook of his elbow, her breathing still deep and uninterrupted. It’s late, not the eerie early morning hours that see the worst of the city’s crime, but late enough that the sky beyond the pale lace curtains is an inky black even at this time of year.

He should still be awake, primed for work, but the day they had spent at the park had exhausted him and he finds he’s content to pull Helen closer and doze off again, the worn fabric of the couch warm against his back, Helen, warmer yet, cradled against his chest.

“Mummy?” Will squints through the doorway on the other side of the room, wishing the glare from the tv wasn’t quite so bright. He hadn’t heard sleep heavy footsteps clomping through the hall so he knows it’s only Ashley standing in the door. Whatever had woken her hadn’t disturbed Maddie.

“Hey, Ash,” he breathes out quietly, not wanting to startle her or wake Helen.

Feather light footsteps and Ashley appears haloed in blue beside the couch, arms outstretched. There’s not quiet enough room for the three of them to fit on the couch in their current configuration but he hoists her up anyway, arm across her shins to keep her from kicking Helen until she’s settled in.

“Bad dream?” He soothes. Ashley may be older, more outgoing than his daughter, but like any toddler she’s still prone to a fitful night’s sleep on occasion, particularly given the late afternoon thunderstorm they’d had the day before.

Ashley breathes hot against his ear, one tiny fist caught in his hair as she squirms around getting comfortable. Helen shifts in her sleep, a mother’s instinct, sensing the commotion, and he reaches down to stroke the side of her face, regretfully coaxing her awake.

“We need to move to the bed,” he whispers as her long lashes flutter and she tips her head up to blink at him. “Ashley’s-“ He groans as the girl tugs unwittingly on his hair. “Squirming.”

Helen laughs, sleepy and content and he smiles despite the small knee digging more firmly against his throat.

“Did you have a bad dream, love?” She asks, reaching up to hook an arm around Ashley’s waist, as the girl turns almost toppling herself from the couch.

“Boom,” Ashley whimpers sullenly, clamping her hands over her ears, her usual good-natured chatter silenced by her fear.

Helen slips her feet to the floor, sitting up and Will shivers, moving with her, missing her warmth in the air-conditioned chill. Cradled in Helen’s arms, Ashley stills almost immediately. “Mummy?” She whimpers through a yawn and Helen quiets her, whispering magical things in her ear as Will threads an arm around Helen’s back, pushing them both to their feet.

The walk to the bedroom is short, but in the dark the slow shuffle drags on longer than it should, Helen carefully avoiding the toys and the hamper Will stumbles over. He stops once to check in on Maddie still asleep in Ashley’s bed, one hand curled around a slat in the footboard, and then pauses again to draw Henry’s bedroom door shut so he wouldn’t be woken by the ruckus in the morning. 

Reaching the bed, Will collapses onto it with a contented sigh. “Heaven.”

Helen chuckles lightly and perches carefully on the edge of the bed. Like everything else, the bed is old but beautiful, the sheets and blankets worn but well cared for, mended and carefully laundered. They were the things that pointed to Helen’s life before, the dreamer that had been buried within the pragmatist and he loved them for that, even if the bed in particular was hard and unyielding. It creaked and it groaned in a way that made Will wince, but Helen as always seemed oblivious, caught up in the quiet cooing and the secret smiles she breathed into her daughter’s hair.

“Here.” Will pulls back the sheets as Helen shifts and she turns curling in toward the middle of the bed, toward him.

“You’re not running off on me.”

“Not tonight.” He stifles a yawn reaching for her, the back of Ashley’s head pressed into his chest as they cocoon her. 

They have plans for the morning, chocolate chip pancakes and a quick trip to the children’s museum, since Will has tickets for free admission, before Will has to pull a double and Helen puts in a couple of hours at the coffeeshop. He’ll have to leave Maddie with Jo, which will probably cause a fit, but he’s not thinking about that right now. 

He’s not thinking about anything except for how happy he is that he’s here. Things between him and Helen have been moving faster than he had thought they would, faster than maybe they should, but he’s happy, she’s happy, the kids are happy. He breathes in the warm smell of childhood and the faint hint of coffee that always lingers on Helen’s skin and slips his eyes shut. He probably won’t be able to get much more sleep, but he’s happy to lie here until the sun crests the horizon and Maddie worms her way into bed with the three of them. It’ll be a lazy, sleepy morning and he’s looking forward to that.


End file.
